Te Mata Peak Visitors Centre Concept Design by Architecture Workshop

You win some you lose some! AW won a competition in 2009 to design a gate way visitors centre on Te Mata Peak for the Park Trust led by Bruno Chambers. We studied land art precedents to integrate the bus infrastructure with the lookout from the ‘sleeping giant’ collaborating with Megan Wraight (WAAL) and Alistair Cattanach (DTC) to utilize Hawkes Bay’s precast concrete prowess. Our ‘circular pier’ concept marked a contour around the peak, that because of bloodshed from past battles is ‘tapu” (sacred) to iwi - as well as creating an amphitheatre for pōwhiri. The educational gallery would have celebrated this rich weaving of history. But alas, the project is now shelved for at least 10 years (the optimistic architect) because of future operational costs and the competition from new civic strengthening projects in the region.